


Found love where it wasn't supposed to be.

by TheMoonAndTheBabalon



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Action, Angst, Drama, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, I'm Bad At Tagging, Romance, SHOOT WEEK IS EVERY WEEK
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-05-01
Packaged: 2018-03-24 19:55:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3782362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMoonAndTheBabalon/pseuds/TheMoonAndTheBabalon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after 4x11, Root doesn't know if Shaw is alive or not. But she doesn't need to know, she never gave up on her anyway.<br/>The Iwillfindyoutillmybonesmeettheground game is on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Well, it's my first attempt to write something like that and it might have some mistakes, considering that English is a foreign language to me. I've read a lot of your fictions guys and I really admire all of you! :D Every comment is welcome and I would appreciate if you tell me what you think, it would help me to improve myself as well.The title could be related more to a fanvid I came across on YouTube than to the original song, lel:F  
> Anyways, enjoy~

 

“ **S-T-O-P”** was all she could read as Harold revealed the Machine's warning.She was looking at it.Examinating the letters in her mind.It seemed like she was trying to find a different combination of the letters, something to decode, another meaning. _''This can't be right''_.It couldn't be accepted that her God was asking her such thing. _Her God_.The only reason that gave her meaning and hope for the sake of humanity, this artificial intelligence as it is by many defined, though for Root is the substitute of human. _But not human at_ _all_.Considering that the Machine lacks of any human error and instability that is spread through the bones of every one of them, like a disease. They are _crippled, broken, a_ _n_ _accident_ _._ But **She** is perfect.She secures the wisdom that every man for centuries is pursuing and he's willing to sacrifice his own life or the lives of many in order to obtain.She's capable of anything.Never wrong.She has taken place above all her priorities and needs.Above all of her needs, _till now_.  
  
She felt like she was standing here for ages, consuming her own life as staring at the four-lettered-word that had filled the paper.For a stranger, it would seem like a woman suffering from some kind of brain syndrome or reading inability, struggling to acknowledge the word's definition.But this is the least that matters now. _''How can you telling me to..."_ She doesn't need to understand, **she didn't want to.**  
  
Finally, Harold spoke and interrupted her thoughts, or her impending burst, he could say, though he had spotted the rage that was taking place over Root's features.  
_''The machine is asking us to stop looking for her. Perhaps the machine does know, perhaps it has a plan. But for our own survival, our sanity, I believe we must reconcile ourselves with never knowing the truth. Otherwise our pursuit of it will consume us entirely.''_ he said, doing his best to calm her down, to make her understand that She has a reason for every decision. _But Root does know that , right?_ She knows that sometimes she has to go through weird stuff that are a total nosense. _But isn't the whole world a bunch of nosense?_ Like that time she helped this guy, named Greenfield, but she didn't actually know why she helped him escape or why he was so importand to Her. Or the time she had to participate in the most boring part-time job ever, even more awckard and boring for Shaw. _Shaw._ She could laugh at the faces Shaw was making during her endeavors to act like a healthy member of society. She could laugh, _anytime but now._  
Most of the time the Machine tells Root what she must do a second before. She does as told.She doesn't need to know any further information such as _why._ Never questioning, her trust for Her is infinite and never doubting. _Or almost nev_ _er?_  
  
She furiously took the phone from Harold's hand, almost violent. She could hear the Machine repeating and repeating the words until Her voice finally faded out and Root found herself pressing the phone against her ear with quite more pressure that she was supposed to, to ensure that she hasn't misheard something. _''This can't be right.”_  
She turned to Harold, giving him the most murderous look, like it was all his fault.He started to move backwards trying to refrain from her, when Root, containing herself said a simple _''Goodbye Harold''_ and dissapeared. She left him speechless.He was almost persuaded while reading her face that her next move would be anything else but friendly _. But he should know_.She always managed somehow to maintain her tempereture even in the most compulsive situations that had nearly cost her life. Always in self-control.  
  
  
  
Her pace fast and uncontrollable. She didn't have the slightest idea where she was heading to or where she should head to.Root without the Machine's guidance was all lost. She haven't felt like that since she was recognized as Her interface.It was a something new for her or at least something _long forgotten_.Not having someone to guide her or to give her information, Root felt like a abandoned spirit roaming without purpose to somewhere.  
_But Root_ was the source of information and knowledge herself.Her multiple skills and her efficient speech could successfully give her everything she desired.She was the _Brain_ that always managed to construct strategies with or without the Machine's assistance.It was not a significant problem for her, she could find a solution.  
  
 _Right now,_ obeying to what she's been told was out of the question. Her time was precious and it shouldn't be spared in her efforts to understand why the Machine asked her to stop looking for her. _To refrain_ from a situation that included Shaw's rescue and safety. ' _'Wasted time''_ , she exhaled.She was sitting on a bench in some place quite lonely trying to decide what her fist move should be, what she needed to do first _of all the things_ that were running through her mind. _Luckily_ , the view was on her side, it helped her to clear her head and relax her body which trembled seconds earlier.She had to think wise in order to locate Shaw. _Shaw._ She was all she could think right now.She smiled bitter at the though of her and wondered where the hell she could've been.Shaw was the toughest of all and for some godlike reason **she could** get through anything, even with her bare hands. _Well, most of the time with her bare hands_ due to her tendency to be involved, willingly or not, in melee combat.Her body was trained and rarely broken.Always alerted in case there was a threat near, with the impressive ability to activate all of her strength at once at some sudden and unexpected fight.  
That was one of the things _among all_ _the_ _things_ that Root admired in her.

  
  
  
  
  
The subway station was freezing even with Harold's radiators, decorating every corner.They kept a certain amount of space warm but that was it, restricted.Outside it should've been below five degrees, enough for the ordinary people to lock themselves in their homes and be near to any fireplace or technology that provided them warmth.Harold couldn't expect anything more from a place that almost all of the materials were metallic, the coldest of all.

He was working on a number, a tough one as it was witnessed by his facial expression.He was tired and frustrated that it had to do with a program designer.These kind of people always know well how to hide their personal information through false identities and encrypted files.He hates that it would consume him more hours than it normally does for other numbers and definitely the weather is not helping.Footsteps were coming from the stairs until Reese appeared, holding two hot coffees.  
  
_''_ _I_ _though_ _t_ _it might help you to get along with the snowstorm outside_ _and the troublemaker over here_ _''_ he said, eyes pointing the computer screen.  
  
_''Well thank you Mr.Reese,_ _but_ _it seems that despite my efforts he doesn't want to be found. It will take more time than I expected.''_ he said, widening his eyes and gazing at nothing as he shook his head desperately.  
  
_''Why don't you call Root to help you with that? She could save you enough time.''_ John said and placed his case files and documents on the table.  
  
_''Mrs.Groves hasn't show up since our last conversation. I'm afraid she's searching for Mrs.Shaw on her own.''_ he said, slowing down on the last three words, hisface concerned.  
  
''Its almost three weeks _now_ _Finch, maybe you should call_ _her_ _to check if she's okay''_ he suggested.  
  
_'_ _'I will not say that I'm not worried, considering what she's capable of,_ _but I think Mrs.Groves made it clear that she doesn't want us to contact with her. Disobeying the Machine was her choice and we must not be involved in this and risk our identities_ _too_ _._ _I will try my best to approach her through_ _a specific_ _code,_ _it would be_ _enough for her to recognize me.”_  
  
John made a sympathetic face showing he understands as he opened his case file and concentrated on the number.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

_The empty room was unusual, a clear evidence that something was missing , something was wrong.Had been prepared enough for this, she loaded her double Smith & Wesson M&P Shield, __the same_ _ones_ _she used the day she lost Sameen.She stared_ _at them for some seconds_ _, muttering ''Will put the blonde bitch on the grave once and for all'',_ _and checked the silencer as she did everytime she entered a new_ _room._ _She had to be careful not to attract_ _more guards than she intended to_ _._ _Couldn't_ _be sure about the number of the threats, though she had estimated on her own that the total number would be around thirty._  
The walls reminded _her_ _of some old clinic, all painted white_ _to beautifully convince you that are already dead and not knowing it yet_ _.She made a disguised face as she remembered these kind of movies with the same scene_ _where_ _someone_ _is_ _waking up in this exactly-looking-deathroom_ _and starts_ _questi_ _oning_ _nosense about things that_ _don't_ _exist._  
_Likewise, she could be at that death point_ _quite_ _soon._  
__  
Observing around as she was walking, almost on the centre now, she could spot an envelope wrapped in tap _e_ _with_ _some_ _undefined handwritten words on it, more like doodles of someone being enough mad to draw them, she though_ _t_ _hopefully.She put her guns on the metallic table next to her and tore the envelope only to see a million of trimmed paper pieces that were filling all_ _of_ _the inside.She turned it upside down to let them fall on the ground when she heard a discreet_ _noise_ _.The possibility of someone hearing it too would be doubting and she was impressed_ _that_ _she managed to do so.She spared the trimmed pieces to reveal the hidden object that had_ _f_ _e_ _ll_ _along with them._  
She stared, eyes widen _ed_ _at the tiny metallic object trying to understand whether or not it was the obvious one. A brain implant,_ _a transponder,_ _perfectly designed on its every detail, spherical at the centre accompanied with a sharp edge that could easily rip the flesh of someone._ _The one that can expose_ _someone's thoughts and feelings_ _by monitoring their brain_ _chemistry_ _._ _S_ _he_ _was carefully turning around the small object when her heartbeat increased significantly, hands trembling, feeling unable to breathe.Overwhelmed with fear, she tried to maintain the blood from not exploding out of her veins. In the small surface of the object, almost hardly visible, numbers and letters were forming ''PROJ381-S.S''_  
  
  
**“SHAW!''** **  
**  


Root violently woke up, trying to properly breathe. She felt all tired, like the exhaustion from her dream had somehow intoxicated her whole body.She shook her head, cursing under her breath that she had to suffer, even in her sleep.And this thing was only making her even more stressful because it was a constant reminder that she lacked of time. Time was rare and she knew she had to focus on what she's been into right now, but how can she when different scenarios related to Shaw's rescue were here to haunt her down every night she was shutting her eyes? _Everything_ _was important._ She had to concentrate and not be distracted by anyone.Root was not fun to mess with at this exact moment, whoever attempting to do so would end up worse than dead. But then it was here. _Someone to annoy her_.Her phone vibrated, showing an unread message.It was from an anonymous transmitter and for one second she thought that maybe the Machine finally decided to help her by giving her the location where Shaw was taken.But even if the code she received could be assumed as a lead, she recalled that it was a particular number that she and Harold were trying to uncover a few months ago.And it was not like she could discriminate every single number she had worked on but this one was all false leads that both of them will never forget.  
  
Root knew well that all Harold wanted was to see if she was okay and nothing else.From their last conversation it was obvious that he had no intention of assisting her further.They had a bigger problem going on, _a war,_ and by playing with the claws of the enemy would definitely result to having their identities blown or worse.She wasn't selfish after all , she could respect that.Harold might have irritated her by giving up Shaw so easily but that wasn't a reason for a intelligent and educated woman like her to be mad.

She replied the same way and terminated her phone.  


**  
  
  
  
  
  
The wounds on her stomach had significantly healed, enough for her to forget that _someday_ existed.But apparently, when her eyes accidentally fell on the scars she could remember it all well, like it happened yesterday.The images were displaying in front of her and she could hear the voices, echoing repeatedly on the background. _Root's voices.Root's desperate screams._ If she was able to move, back then, she would have turned her head enough to meet her eyes and tell her either to shut the fuck up _o_ r to stop because everything was okay.The first option could relate more to Shaw, actually, _it was all Shaw_ and the second one was enough kind to make her roll her eyes as spelling it.But she had to admit that hearing Root screaming and crying almost touched the heartbreaking point. _Almost._  
  
She found her body stiffening and she wondered if she really believes that kissing Root was the right choice instead of punching her.She could punch her as well,it would not be their first time.But what was that kiss for? _Did she felt something for her?_ She grimaced hilariously when realized what just asked herself.One thing that she was sure for is that she didn't do feelings.  
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, eyes randomly focused on the view through the window, when the door opened and Martine walked in.Normally, she would adopt an aggressive and ready for fight posture but the jewelry that was adapted to her legs would only gift her if she managed to cross it.  
Martine smirked _and oh god,_ Shaw hated that smirk that was followed by a sentence as a attempt to remind her that _**they**_ were the source of knowledge and power, capable of controlling the human mankind with Samaritan's assistance.Greer, Martine,all. _S_ _he hated all of them._  
  
  
_''What are you trying to find by looking out there,Shaw?'_ ' Martine said, never leaving the smirk out of her face.

 _''Trying to find something to distract me enough not to look at you and throw up my life''_ _she said,_ refusing to look at her, gaze remaining still on the view outside.

 _''Oh is that so? I though you were thinking about that pain in the ass of yours that everytime she has to interfere and ruin my plans.But,well, playtime's over, don't you agree Shaw?''_ her tone of voice was increasingly annoying and ironical.

All that Shaw could do was to fight the amount of rage that was attempting to emerge on the surface. She maintained her boring and usual expression.She would not give her the pleasure of responding in annoyance.  
  
_''Save that one for later''_ she replied, her lips forming a smile.

 _''And you think that later of yours will be proven as a victory? You think that your team will come to rescue you? That the hacker will? Well, I_ _'m not_ _doubt_ _ing_ _that they won't try.''_ she walked closer to Shaw and placed something on the table.Shaw couldn't tell what it was yet. She couldn't care less to find out.  
As Martine was approaching the exit, she standed a few seconds next to the door and said _''We're looking forward to their visit”._ Then she left.

Shaw could see even if she didn't have visual contact with the woman, that her last words were accompanied by a smirk again. _An annoying_ _one._  
Martine used to act like she didn't have something more important to do than playing with Shaw's patience.Always referring the name Root.Shaw was sure that Martine had seen the kiss between them.And now there she was, enjoying herself more than she could show. Shaw had achieved all this time locked up in here to maintain the same facial expression that screamed _I don't fucking care_.  
All of the smirks she received in her entire life, only Root's were acceptable.No one else's. Even if sometimes she irritated her too, but Shaw was secretly enjoying the rejection she was offering in response to hacker's innuendos. _But they both knew that it was a part of their verbal foreplay._ She couldn't betray Root and the rest of the team after all by showing Martine that she cares enough. _Not like she did._  
  
She turned to finally see what the blonde had left in the room.It was a bowl with some kind of meat on the inside and next to it a note saying:  
_''Eat_ _well_ _and get some rest, we start in two days.''_  
Shaw froze for a couple of seconds, feeling weak that she was permitted, not being able to do anything.Trapped in the hands of the enemy. She never believed that the team will find her here anyway.And even if they did, _someday_ , it was too late now.This place was like a cemetery, _forgotten and cold._ Life was foreign here _._ Not even one soul was passing by outside, except the usual ones.She couldn't precisely describe how she was feeling right now, but it was more like nostalgic _tha_ _n_ sad _._ If she had to be honest with herself, she would be satisfied if she could be one last time with her familiar faces. Some action with John while on a _I-almost-died-mission_ , with Fusco's incredible comments, with Finch's nerdiness as Shaw called it, with _Root_ getting under her skin everytime.. and.. _with the dog_.She was in for the dog, _never to forget that._ She laughed at the last one.It was not the time to hide behind her finger and while there was no one near to read her thoughts, she could admit to herself that a dog was never a reason to force her to interact and stay near humans. _Something else_ attached her enough to stay for so long, but what does it matter now anyway. In two days they will start experimenting on her. Planting the transponders on her brain. Ruining her.  
She will be their slave, programmed to give eveything they desired.Manipulated to the very end. **She won't be the same.** Being mentally unable to respond to any situation would be the worst of any physical pain,of any kind of death she could ever receive. _Martine had won._


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "There is nothing in my heart, that is how I love you  
> There is nothing in my heart, that is how I hate you  
> There is nothing in my hand, that is what I owe you  
> There is nothing in my mind, that is what I think of you"
> 
> Ordo Rosarius Equilibrio:A Song 4 Hate & Devotion

The safehouse in New York was gifted with every kind of mistakes. The lack of space and the old decoration filled with wooden furniture created an atmosphere unbearable and it was _even more torturing_ when Root had to count the days so not to lose track of time.She didn't know if it could be still considered a safehouse.It was one of the Machine's orders to hide in there when Root was working on a number a long time ago.It was necessary to escape from all, so she believed it was the right choice to choose this one _among all the places_ she could stay. _The further the better,_ she thought. Even if the shivers in her pale skin had become familiar to her, she was too busy to focus on what was annoying her and complain. As long as she had her computer equipment, it was all that mattered to her.

Apart from the unpleasant environment that was making its presence perceptible, Root estimated that in a couple of hours her creation will be completely ready to use.Her physical need for some rest was killing her but she could ignore it the same way she did about all the things this awful place had.   
As time was passing by, the sun had already set outside and Root thought that she'll be finally offered some warmth.She could feel it as it pierced through the window, heating her skin. She moved her eyes from the computer screen to look outside the city and she was startled at her reflection that was painting all over the window. The circles under her eyes were strange and unusual, welcoming a combination of colors related more to a bruise than exhaustion. She wasn't okay, she knew it. Just preferring to ignore it. _How could someone be okay_ when he has locked himself in a place for three weeks, it front of a computer screen, eating nothing? The amount of coffee that was filling her empty stomach was only making things worse for her. _But she knew it_.Just didn't have enough time for anything _irrelevant to her purpose._

A weak smile escaped from her lips.It was almost midnight when she allowed her hands to be detached from the keyboard.It was done.The software.Could be used anytime from now.

At the stock exchange, when the doors of the elevators were finally closed at Shaw's almost unconscious body laid on the floor, it took all of Root's strength left in her to preserve the balance of her shaking hands in order to hold her phone and gain access to Martine's device while she was still close to her.After some seconds, the signal was lost as the distance was growing between the two women and apparently, her attempt to do such thing was unsuccessful.   
Back then, she was overwhelmed with fear, struggling with her emotions that had prevailed allover her body and brain, preventing any response. _She couldn't think_.Couldn't stop her collapse.All that **she wanted** was to act _in a fucking way_ that it would save Sameen's life.Someone to track down. **A key** to lead her to the same door. _The enemy's doo_ _r._  
__  
But it was _all huma_ _n_ , no one would be self-possessed in this case. _Another human_ _weakness_ _and inability._  
  
After she abandoned Harold, she had the time to think with a less complicated mind than before, and _she remembered_.She remembered that her effort hadn't fail at all.Root had modified the software in a way that even if the connection failed due to target's distance or some unexpected situation, such as an unknown blocking, it would rapidly collect all the possible information about the target during this time and automatically save it to the perpetrator's device. _That was all that Root needed to create her program._  
Information about a important member of the rivals.The history of locations and addresses located on the target's GPS, the device's structure code with the great possibility of being elaborated by Greer, _Root hoped_ _at least_ _. Anything_ that its size was below 3MB could be easily transferred.  
All that were enough for the hacker to reveal the location of the enemy's lair as well as to approach Samaritan's code using the one existing in Martine's.  
  
Root purposely ignored the fact that _it was all assumptions_.She could never be sure about the resolution.The software could give her false information that could lead her to nowhere as well, like it happened with Harold and Reese.  
But she needed **to trust** something right now.She did trust her skills, _the only thing left to encourage her._  
  
  
**  
  
  
  
Her muscles were tensed and she could notice her body vigilance being exaggerated, like she was conquered by fear and worry, regardless of her emotions. _”Anxiety is the cause of muscle tension”,_ her medical knowledge spoke to her. But she wasn't nervous, _how could she be?_ _She was just angry._  
From the previous day she couldn't stop herself from desperately crossing the same distance over and over, her face meeting the wall and then turning back to be directed to the other. She wasn't sure what she was doing. But she couldn't sleep or eat or anything.  
Sometimes she did sit by the window, but the feeling of being a hostage with nothing she could use to fight but her bare inability, was awfully real and haunting.  
Because she lacked of strength.She had nothing and they had it all. _More than they needed actually._  
She leaned on the nearest wall when she found herself incapable of holding the rage any longer.She was trying to prevent any reaction because she was aware of the surveillance cameras that were placed on every corner. _Their eyes on her._ Her hands were forming fists and she had her nails pressed tightly against her skin so she could feel herself being hurt.Enough hurt to prevent any possible expose of her _weakness_ in front of the enemy.  
She made her way to the bed where she could turn her back to them, showing for once more that _she doesn't give a shit_.She felt a stitch coming from her palm and she raised her hand to see blood _,at her suprise,_ coming from the small scratches that her nails created. _She laughed at herself._  
_A few times in her life_ _she had hurt herself on purpose for self preservation reasons_ _._ Or she had let **someone** to do so.Referring to the second one, Shaw was now forcing herself to recall.When did she allow someone? _“Not in this lifetime”,_ she muttered under her breath, raising her eyebrows a little.  
But she did. _She did Root._  
She narrowed her eyes and made an annoyed face when she realized that it was true.Root had always the upper hand in the game and **even if it seemed** like she tasted defeat every single time owing to Shaw's carelessness, _she really didn't_.Because at the end, Root always had what she wanted, in the right place. _She had_ the last word during their mission in Alaska, leaving Shaw standing awkwardly as she was waiting for a response about where she should head to, that never came. _She had Shaw_ sneaking up on her, when all she did was to tease her as hell while she was on a ''date'' with Tomas.  
  
_She had Shaw_ tased,tied up,drugged. _She had her_ face some inches away from the iron. **She had her.**  
Shaw wasn't annoyed at all right now.She was more like _how_. How did Root manage to invade her personal life with such convenience and without Shaw's awareness every time?   
It all happened because _Shaw_ gave her the permission.She did by not reacting as she would if it was someone else.By sharing her personal space with her.Because she ignored her enough when she was averting her eyes and walking past her, _enough to show her that she cares_.  
And it didn't occurred to her that one day she will accidentally care about someone. _She could care,_ just chose to use her heart less at every situation including people and their feelings, so she could have herself excluded.

She abruptly turned her head to look at the window's direction when the sound of a thunder cut off her thoughts.The threatening melody coming from the hazardous storm was one of the things that could give Shaw a peace of mind.Without much thinking, her mind travelled back to the day when she decided to leave all her familiar faces behind in order to save them.To risk her life for the sake of her team.  
She cared the least about herself. Shaw did the protecting, she wanted all of them to be safe. _Root to be_.  
  
Even now, she could sense Root's soft lips pressed violently against her own.The moment was lingering at the back of her head and before it could proceed to something else than a simple kiss, _she forced herself to stop._

As much as she denies it, the fact that she used her heart more than she did _-much more-_ and kissed Root at the stock exchange, proves exactly the opposite. _That she cares._  
_She act_ _ed_ _as felt._

 

  


 


	4. Chapter 4

A morning full of traffic and noise.Busy people crossing off the street while others are gathered in queues to arrange their weekly responsibilities, often making huge conversations that lead to an argument about their priority rights.This is New York.  
_Or this is from Root's prespective at least._ This city contains a variety of sounds coming from different places that no human is able to distinguish and isolate in his mind, resulting to a last longing headache.She didn't hate that place, but she couldn't call it peaceful either.One thing sure, is that _right now_ not only she abhorred the entire city but also her body for not receiving the proper rest it was offered the whole night. _Well, most of the night_ because no thought was easy to be ignored from the hacker's mind.

 _A part of Root_ was happy that she finally managed to create something so fast that could be used to _kind-of-replace_ the Machine's assistance. **For know** _.Until their disagreements are over._ She knew she disobeyed everything the Machine said, but this is only temporary until she brings Sameen back.The only person that could make Root to deny her God and follow her own road.The only person that she was willing to risk everything for. _Even if she could exchange herself_ _back then_ _, she really would_.She doesn't care what will happen to her anyway.But the Machine was not **interchangeable**.She couldn't just use her skills to replace Her, she knew it damn well for not to even think about it.  
“ _Everything will be fixed when this is over”,_ she thought, lowering her head.  
_Another part of Root_ was cracked, torn apart, frustrated. _What if her only chance to find the agent fails completely?What if something fatal_ _happens_ _to Shaw owning to_ _Root's_ _procrastinate?_  
She was trying to refrain from negative assumptions and give some courage to herself, _as if she had anyone else to do._

She started typing again.The software could scan every device for relevant structure codes given Martine's one, without any limit.She had an advantage.Her ways of succeeding were more than one because according to her theory, Samaritan was providing their agents a specific equipment _.Root had notice_ _d during their teamfights._ It would be not logical though, to have different kind of devices with different codes.Actually she was more than sure about the last one because _ **how would**_ _Samaritan interfere to its agents phones if it hadn't install_ _ed_ _a specific code or at least modif_ _ied_ _the existing one?_ It would be impossible for an artificial intelligence to have full access of a device without using a particular code close to its own that would run faster its attempt for accessibility.

Apart from that, the structure code could possibly consist a piece of Samaritan's. _A real weapon._  
  
_When Root_ _estimated_ _,_ _she hardly failed._  
A hacker's brain cannot be easily disputed and _,certainly_ , not hers.She had to choose wisely a city for the software to start its scan.Due to its lack of detail it had chances to be slower than Root hoped.  
_“_ _M_ _ust neither be_ _ _too far__ _away,_ _ _nor too close__ _ _”__ she reminded herself.  
If Martine, _widely known as the right hand of Greer,_ could be a threat to her daily life,then their hiding place _should be somewhere near._  
  
Jersey City’s ideal location due to its close proximity to New York.It was the first possible city that crossed her mind.But after some seconds the amount of places was more than just one. _She was running out of time.She could never have the time.Not now._  
But the hacker always trusted her instict.And her first option emerged unconsiously from her mind and settled right there.Then, she remembered a quote from a book she read a couple of months ago “ _O_ _ur success rate rises when we harness the unconscious mind.”_  
_New Jersey its was._ She started the scan.  
  
_@SET TO;NEWJERSEY;_  
  
;29428,604542bc_62%3  
  
[[%APPROXIMATE_TIME;TWO_HOURS &]]  
  
  
  
  
**

The door slammed roughly against the wall was enough for Shaw to make her furiously jump out of her bed and grab the nearest object, ready to throw it on whoever invaded in such way.  
It took some seconds fo to be fully aware of who was standing right in front of her, but she didn't even bothered to throw the object straight to the blonde.But the estimation was hasty and she failed to aim for her head.Unfortunately, the small object _slightly_ touched her feet.  
The rapid detection of her facial expressions witnessing pure anger was obvious.  
  
_''Good morning you too''_ said Martine, smiling abominably, as usual.  
  
_"'Oh, it would be_ _if I were to_ _see you choking on your own words._ _But this fucking thing on my legs doesn't seem to help at all._ _''_ her dark eyes were locked with Martine's, threatening her not to move any closer.  
  
_''Relax honey, what's the point of being so aggressive when you know you can do nothing anyway? I want to finally meet the_ _other_ _side of you before you cease to exist as the Shaw we all_ _kn_ _e_ _w._ _''_  
Martine crossed her hands and leaned against the door giving her a look of pity that was accompanied with a damn sound that had Shaw done with her limits.  
She could feel the anger blocking the blood from running through her veins and she headed uncontrollably towards the other woman  
_''You fucking piec-_ _'_ ' but she her words were cut when her face touched the floor.  
She was standing some inches away from her and just before she was about to raise her fist and punch the blonde woman, she felt the voltage dominating her body, causing extensive and deep burns that forced the agent to immediately fall on the ground.  
  
_''It's about a month since you've been here Shaw and you haven't really learn what happens when this beautiful monitor meets its limit?_ Martine said and crouched down to her height until she could see herface **** _ **.**_ She chuckled, _satisfied at herself_ , as her hand was now stroking gently Shaw's hair.  
_''You can't be so stupid Shaw, give up acting like that already.You're broken and weak. Just get use to it,_ _okay?_ _''_  
Shaw could feel the physical contact with the other woman and her words made her heart rate rising increasingly, giving her an unpleasant pain that she had met a few times in life. _Like the few times she was a hostage, restricted and weak._  
  
Her body was numb, unable to respond at any signal, like it was seperated from her brain.She'd ruin Martine's face with a single punch that could make her flesh be attached with her own bones, leaving her with skull fracture, _or worse_.But _she had_ to lay there and tolerate her verbal game, doing nothing.  
Martine eventually stranded on her feet, and Shaw could tell that the other woman started pacing away, heading for the door.  
_''This day is special Shaw, not_ _only_ _for you but also for us. Try not to make it look bad.''_ she said and then left.  
The last sentence reminded Shaw the day when she stepped outside of the house where Root was and spelled exactly the same words.Of course, the ninety percent of Root's response included the usual flirt that had Shaw averting her eyes as she always did at the presense of the annoying hacker. _But now,_ it felt like she actually missed these things. _But_ _Shaw_ couldn't actually miss someone as she claimed.She was sure that somehow she had misinterpreted her feelings, it couldn't be nostalgia. _It was_ _just_ _anger_ _and_ _nothing more._  
The monitor's effects started to fade away and she managed to move small parts of her body. She had planned Martine's death with one hundred different ways as she was laying there all this time.  
_''Your grave is widely opened and waiting''_ she murmured enough loud for surveillance cameras to recognize the words as she gave a glance at them.  
  
She forced herself to cross small distances over the time because she couldn't entirely feel her body as whole yet, until she reached her bed and with a painful effort she stranded on her feer and threw herself on it.  
Even if she didn't believe that somehow she'd escape out from here, she was sure that Root will chase down Martine to the very end once she find her, offering a slow and painful death with her torturing skills, _like Shaw wanted her to_.She knew that the hacker wouldn't let her down.  
_She ca_ _ught_ _herself smiling again_.Why this unwanted smile was present everytime she thought about Root?It was wrong, _it felt wrong._ It made Shaw wanting to slap herself.It was definitely her embarrassing position of being taken, locked up,tortured and _very very soon_ manipulated by the enemies that was making her thinking of such things. _Nothing else._  
  
She was ashamed of herself for not being dead right at the stock exchange.She was supposed to die for her team. **That was her plan** _ **.**_ To sacrifice herself so that they could be safe. _''Look at this shit now''_ she thought, placing her hands in her head giving a great amount of pressure as it would change anything. _She regret nothing._ **It had to be.**  
But her survival was insufferable at this point.

 


End file.
